(Salem, OR) — Oregon Governor Kate Brown, California Governor Jerry Brown, and Washington Governor Jay Inslee today issued the joint statement below following the announcement that the U.S. Department of Interior will seek to open the Pacific Coast to oil and gas offshore drilling for the first time in decades:

“This political decision to open the magnificent and beautiful Pacific coast waters to oil and gas drilling flies in the face of decades of strong opposition on the part of Oregon, Washington, and California – Republicans and Democrats alike.

“They’ve chosen to forget the utter devastation of past offshore oil spills to wildlife and to the fishing, recreation and tourism industries in our states. They’ve chosen to ignore the science that tells us our climate is changing and we must reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. But we won’t forget history or ignore science.

“For more than 30 years, our shared coastline has been protected from further federal drilling and we’ll do whatever it takes to stop this reckless, short-sighted action.”

Klamath Falls News

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